Board of Commissioners Updates

Posted 12/27/2016

Ladies and Gentlemen:

On behalf of the Board of Commissioners of Fire District 4, I am very proud to announce Chief Kenneth Moore was named the new Fire Chief of our District by unanimous vote at the
regular meeting last night (December 20th, 2016). Chief Moore scored the highest grade on the State Civil Service Examination and the oral interview which was conducted by a committee
appointed by the Chairman. Chief Moore has served as the Provisional Chief since the retirement of Chief Merrick Tassin earlier this year. Our Board along with myself, have every
confidence in the leadership of Chief Moore and look forward to working with him as we continue to strive in making Fire District #4 the finest it can be in serving the citizens of our
State, City and Parish.

I would also like to wish each of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy, Safe, Healthy, and Prosperous 2017! May God continue to bless our families, our political leaders, our
military, first responders, and the United States of America!

In my effort to continually keep you advised as to the progress being made on our District's Strategic Plan, our Board of Commissioners accepted and approved the Annual Financial
Report and independent audit for the year ended December 31, 2015 by the Certified Public Accounting Firm of Ericksen, Krentel and Laporte. The report related that no significant
deficiencies or material weaknesses disclosed. In addition the report found no instances of noncompliance to the financial statements of the fire district which would be required to be
reported in accordance with Government Auditing Standards. A copy of the Audit report was forwarded to the St. Tammany Parish Government, City of Mandeville, as well as the Louisiana
Legislative Auditors Office.

I wish to commend our Staff and Provisional Fire Chief Kenneth Moore on a very outstanding job of handling the financial affairs of our fire district along with the day to day
operations. The efforts made in continuing to be one of the finest departments in St. Tammany Parish has not gone unnoticed by our Board of Commissioners and myself.

On behalf of our Board of Commissioners I want to express our sincere thanks for the support you have given Fire District 4 in the past as well as in the future.

In my effort to continually keep you advised as to the progress being made on our District's Strategic Plan, copies of our 2015 budget as well as our 2016 proposed budget have been
made public as required by state law. In addition, our Board of Commissioners requested that Chief of Administration Kenneth Moore furnish a copy via email to all Fire District 4
employees and asked that each employee review the proposed budget and make constructive suggestions as to areas the District could reduce expenditures and still maintain our level of
professional services to the citizens of our District, City, and Parish. While we are anticipating a shortfall in revenue, working together with our employees we hope to develop a
strategy that will reduce our outflow while making it tolerable for our employees. Personnel salaries and benefits make up the largest line items in our budget.

Chief Merrick Tassin has submitted a two week notice to the Board of Commissioners that he will retire on December 18, 2015 after 29 years of service to our Fire District and our
Parish. The Board of Commissioners and I would like to congratulate and wish the Chief well in his retirement and we thank him for his many years of dedicated service to the citizens of
Mandeville and St. Tammany Parish.

Again, on behalf of our Board of Commissioners I want to express our sincere thanks for the support you have given Fire District 4 in the past as well as in the future.

The duties of the Chairman did not change from the old By-Laws that have been in effect for over 28 years. The Chairman was and still is the Chief Executive Officer of the Fire
District. (Some suggested that I was attempting to give the position additional authority, and I assure you that was not and is not the case).

As we move forward with our District's Strategic Plan (which I copied our elected officials on and posted to the District's web site a couple of weeks ago), our next step is the
Compliance and Ethics Section for our District. We have had one work session (September 30th) and another one is scheduled for a Special Board meeting set for October 7th at 6:00pm at our
Station 1 709 Girod Street. I will again update you as this section is completed.

The third section of the plan will address our compensation and payroll practices to bring them into the 21st Century. Some of these are still being handled manually and it is our hope
to improve on the process methods being used as well as how overtime, Holiday Pay, Incentives, etc., have been paid in an effort to simplify the process and at the same time KEEP
EVERYONE WHOLE. We are looking forward to the work sessions that will take place on this phase of our Strategic Plan as well. Realistically, these work sessions will probably
take place in early November as we are waiting on State Civil Service Opinions as will as State Attorney General Opinions on parts of the plan.

Again, on behalf of our Board of Commissioners I want to express our sincere thanks for the support you have given Fire District 4 in the past as well as in the future.

In an ongoing effort to keep each of you informed as to the workings of Fire District #4 and the issues found in our Audit this year, the attachment is an effort by our Board of Commissioners and our Fire District Administrators to implement
a strategic plan that is pro-active, to address issues, with solutions, and transparency, as well as updating the By-Laws to bring them into the 21st Century.

While I do plan to have public meetings to hear suggestions and comments before any part of this plan is implemented, this plan clearly relates where our Board of Commissioners and our
Fire District Administrators want to take our Fire service to the next level of quality, service, and professionalism that each of you and our citizens deserve. While all of us feel that
we have a great department, with the best trained Firefighters, Paramedic's, and staff, we also feel that needed improvements are required going forward in order to maintain not only a
high level of service to our citizens, but also for us to maintain a low PIAL rating for our homeowners and tax payers.

As Chairman, I can assure you that our Board of Commissioners will continue to insist on a high quality of service and professionalism from our employees, while being prudent in
spending the tax dollars afforded to us. Thank you for the trust you have placed in all of us associated with Fire District #4 and thank you for the support you have given to us in the
past and in the future.